Political Newcomer Hopes to Unseat Hatboro Mayor

Saying, “we need a mayor for all the people of Hatboro,” businessman Bill Godshall has thrown his hat into the political ring.

Godshall, 69, who moved into the borough five years ago and relocated his business, Rose in Bloom, to Hatboro from New Hope at that time, has set his sights on the position of mayor. The post is currently held by Democrat Norm Hawkes, whose term ends this year.

A military veteran of 32 years, Godshall said addressing flooding in the borough, as well as having more input on the decision to either fix or rebuild the 50-year-old police station are his top priorities.

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Patch: Why are you running for mayor?

Godshall: “I think we need a mayor for all the people of Hatboro … I think we need to move Hatboro along. Make it an open, accepting community. Hatboro has become pretty diverse over the years. It’s changed now. If you look around town, you’ll see a lot of older people in Hatboro, there’s a lot of people with disabilities, we have a lot of brown people, central American, south Americans, which I don’t think we had before. Hatboro used to be a retail hub at one point. It’s no longer a retail hub … We’re becoming a service town … Embrace the fact that that’s what we are. I don’t think we promote that enough … We have a lot to offer. I don’t think we’re quite doing it the right way.”

Patch: What do you hope to achieve if elected?

Godshall: “I would like to have a little more input into the decision on the police building. It really needs help in a big way …  I was surprised at how inadequate it is … Two of the things that the mayor is in charge of are emergency services system and police. I would like to look into those more.”

Devising an evacuation plan for Moreland Towers, as well as an emergency plan for flood-prone properties are other goals that Godshall highlighted.

Patch: Besides concerns over the police building and flood-prone properties, what do you see as the big issues in town – and how would you work to address them?

Godshall: “There’s a lot of buildings owned by out-of-town landlords. They kind of don’t care what they look like and that annoys me.”

He suggested having “some kind of ordinance or something” to regulate the upkeep of buildings in the borough’s commercial district.

Patch: What’s your stance on the anti-discrimination ordinance that Mayor Hawkes vetoed in 2010?

Godshall: “I do believe in the ordinance. If you take a look at how the government’s moving, the federal and state government and Montgomery County … It takes it off the table for Hatboro. We have a nice town. I have not felt any discrimination here at all. We are an open, accepting town. We like diversity. By shooting it down, we’re saying we don’t want that.”

Patch: What attributes or special skills best qualify you to serve as mayor?

Godshall: “I was in the military for 32 years (retiring in 1989). I’ve had a lot of people under my wing for many, many years.” More on Godshall’s military experience is available on his Web site.

Godshall also served as a Boy Scout and Cub Scout leader for 18 or 19 years.

“I like people. I like being around people.”

Patch: As mayor, what do you feel you can offer Hatboro residents and business owners that the current mayor can not or has not offered yet?

Godshall: “I know I want to be a lot more visible and lend an ear more to what they need.”

Godshall said he’d like to work to make the businesses open in the north end of town feel “more included.”

“I’d like to be a lot more involved with the businesses in town, the residents in town, try to get things brought up to council that they can’t bring up.”

Patch: Since the mayor only votes in the event of a tie, what would you say are the most important aspects of the position?

Godshall: “Input – that’s the important thing … be a voice for other people.”